Last week, I picked up a pair of dusty chairs at a thrift store.  I loved the classic cottage shape and the cheap price, but the finish was so grungy.  I brought them home and sanded them down to the raw wood, removing all the dirt and grime.  Then I gave them a fresh coat of spring green paint ! 

Here they are Before . . .

. . . and After

All it took was half an hour of sanding and and an hour of painting to give them a fresh new look with some paint and a little distressing !

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I’m one of those people who likes to surround myself with inspiration, and often it is in the form of favorite quotes or words.  I especially like to see words or quotes as original art framed in a gallery on the wall, together with other family pictures and artwork.  They are an inexpensive way to add personality to a home, and a great conversation starter !

I’ve come across some favorites on Etsy, and I thought I’d share them with you today.  Click on the titles below for the link.  

City of Love by The Love Shop

  When Life Hands You Lemons by Dear Colleen

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Greetings friends, the winners of the Scentsy Giveaway are as follows:

#48 Carly who wrote:

“Without a doubt, I would choose the Orange Dreamsicle scent. I always opt for food-based smells, and something citrusy and creamy would be just the thing as the weather gets warmer.”

#209 Andrea who wrote:

“Ooh, I’m super excited! I love candles and good smelling things.  It’s really hard to choose, but I love citrus smells, so I think I’d be okay with any one of scents from the tropical collection. Maybe Cranberry Mango or Tangerine Tango also sounds delish!”

Congrats to both of the winners !  Send me an email and I’ll put you in contact with the representative from Scentsy. 

Mmmmmmmm.

My friend Lindsay is having a crafty little contest on Thursday and I thought I’d throw my name in the hat.  I consider myself pretty thrifty, but when you are forced to stick to a $5 dollar budget in this contest, you must get very resourceful.   

So I got my craft on the other day and made some paper maché Easter eggs using what I already had in my house – which is tricky when you only have brown eggs and very thin tissue paper.  But my kindergartener and I managed to hatch a fresh batch of blue eggs on the cheap. 

Disclosure:  I was completely unsure when I started this project if it would be a disastrous waste of time, so I decided to invest nothing beyond what I had on hand, which meant using brown not white eggs.  Or you can just use store bought plastic eggs, but I’m cheap.  Unsure of the outcome, I refused to brush my hair, my teeth, or get dressed out of my flannel plaid pajamas to make a special trip to the craft store or grocery store.  In hindsight, white eggshells would work better to save time and several layers of tissue.  Just saying. 

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I was slicing lemons and trimming the ends of daffodils yesterday, then I was struck by a mad passion for yellow.  Hmm.  Strange.  I just painted over all the yellow in my kitchen, and today I am fixated.  Fickle am I.  It must be my serious case of spring fever.

Anyway, I got to thinking.  Yellow is one of those colors that’s a little trickier to design with, but when used just right, yellow is incredibly stylish and oh so chic.  Yellow is vibrant and cheerful; the color of sunshine and happiness!  I think it is especially beautiful when paired with deep gray, soft green, turquoise, or white.  

Here’s a few examples of yellow done just right.

House to Home

Southern Accents

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